ICCR 2025 • Round 3 • July 6th (Part 1)

Round 3 of the 2025 ICCR championship got off to a flying start at Mondello Park with thrilling action across a range of competitive classes. In the Fiesta Zetec Championship, Sean McGovern was the standout performer, converting pole position into a dominant victory while also breaking the class lap record with a 2:11.762. Kelsey Kirby made a big impression too, qualifying third and running confidently inside the top five for much of the race. Her pace and racecraft drew praise throughout the paddock. With full grids, dramatic battles, and a growing roster of young talent, the Fiesta Zetec field once again proved why it’s one of the most entertaining series on the Irish calendar.

Over in the SEAT Super Cup Ireland, the racing was just as intense. David McGuire Jr. grabbed headlines by charging into the lead early on, only for mechanical issues to cut his race short. That left David McGuire Sr. to inherit the lead and hold off a fast-charging Paul Parr and Steven Wright in slippery conditions. Meanwhile, in the Junior Mini class, Leo Richardson extended his unbeaten run to five wins in a row, navigating a chaotic start and multiple restarts with trademark composure. With new resurfacing at Mondello enabling quicker lap times and cleaner racing lines, Part 1 of ICCR Round 3 delivered high drama and set the stage for an action-packed weekend of Irish motorsport.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-zNEuNRF3o&t=3s
Video Transcript

Note: This transcript is an edited version of the live commentary from ICCR Round 3 at Mondello Park. While every effort has been made to preserve accuracy, it may contain minor typos, misstatements, or informal language reflective of the live broadcast setting.

 

[00:01:30] Well ladies and gents, welcome to day two of the third round of the ICCR here at Mondello Park. Fantastic racing yesterday and we’re expecting it to even better today we’re back live streaming. Thanks for the Beacon Hospital. They’ve packed the live stream for a number of seasons now. They’re doing again thankfully this year. Packed paddock, some great fun and qualifying this morning. Some really close racing and qualifying even though you’re not supposed to race, you just live chasing lap times a lot of tin top action today. We’ve got the patch tyre equipment, junior [00:02:00] Minis, incredibly close in qualifying Stech Safety Fiesta, same thing, Sean McGovern on pole position, but the talk of the pad as Kelsey Kirby who’s gone third quickest this morning and she’s starting on row two, so absolutely fantastic stuff. Kelsey’s an instructor here at Mondello Park and she works for Motorsport Ireland, so obviously she’s got a lot of support here that’s going to be great Racing All Repair Centre Fiesta Tim McQuaid is stuck it up all ahead of Dave McGuire.

 

It’s an all LOH front row with the Murray Motorsport cars and all the rest to be trying to get him. Junior Minis will entertain Boss Islander here today. They’re [00:02:30] trying to try and have a go at the outright lap record at Mondello Park with Sylvie mullins, so we’ll keep an eye on that as we get going later on. It’s a little bit of rain in the air but it hasn’t come just yet. If it stays clear, expect lap records, expect great racing. We’re going now with the Motorbike Powered Legends. They’re on the rolling lap already behind the Alpha Rome, Mayo Jr Safety car, so within about 30 seconds they’ll go racing. So I’m going to run back into commentary and get it going, but you’re in for some very good racing here today at Mondello Park.

 

[00:03:00] So great footage there of the legends as they go in. They gave us great entertainment yesterday, the legends, I don’t expect that to be any different today. So a good grid of them all beautifully turned out as ever. 1200 cc motorbike engines in these cars are very quick designed not to have too much grips. They move around quite a lot. A lot of opposite lock can be hard to get ’em turned in because they [00:03:30] don’t have a differential, little bit of odd technique to drive in them, but any of that race absolutely loves them. Pole position is Nico Franke, number 17 and foreign visitor very quick and he’s in the rookie class here this weekend, so he went really well yesterday. Watch out for him. Richie power, alongside him, another rookie then it’s Dennis Lambert James by Sylvie Bartlett, Jonathan Patterson, Scott Jackson, Declan burke and all the rest and watch this drone shot as we head down to the Alpha Romeo Bridge.

 

We are racing at Mondello Park in the ICCR. Great sound effects as they go by heading down towards [00:04:00] cast corner for the first time and here they go and find a big lockup behind A little bit of help sense sideways, someone having a run right round the outside. I think I was going to hang onto this one but that was hectic at the first corner. A big lock up and a little bit of help from, I think that was Dennis Lambert in that beautifully prepared blue car. Just couldn’t get stopped and gave a little kiss on the back bumper. But the S to take that they built for got straight bumpers across the front and back. You see it quite often around the world. They push each other along and qualifying sometimes was a little bit of a shock to the culture where they started doing up ELA park [00:04:30] but they’re kind of built for these kind of race all around the world.

 

POB racing run most of them here at Mondello Park, they prep them, they rent them, they do a lot of work on them and they are massively competitive. They go gone to the UK with the parables and a few other drivers and have won over there. They’ve been in America and gone well. So a good grid of them here as they head out onto the international loop. That’s the change today we’re on the international circuit at Mondello Park and that’s a good shot up. Kennedy’s Rise named Dr. David Kennedy into Lola Corner. The fast, fast righthander somebody going a bit wide. That’s 14 that doesn’t get into the apex. [00:05:00] There is Richie power just driven wide. Another car putting him under pressure but a good turn in there from Nico Franke and that allows him to open that gap. He’s got five or six lengths out front as they head down to seven A and B, but there’ll be some really quick drivers coming through the random grids at the first race of the weekend for legends.

 

They all get a go starting in the front, middle and back, but Nico Franke easing away, it’s not often you see this in Legends, he probably knows some of the quick guys are coming through. You’re watching out for Scott Jackson. Number 1 46 Declan burke went well yesterday. 18 Michael Barrable, Gordon [00:05:30] Brown was very quick yesterday. 16 watch out for him. Leave alone. 13. They’re the numbers we’ll be looking out for and this one as they move forward, there’s number one, the ACO car looking absolutely fantastic. Two Nordic spirit corner there for the leader right up over the inside curb out to the outside curb and then hard on the brakes and down through the gearbox. Everyone having to look up the inside here, it’s a big move up the inside is that slim alone making up space starting at the back of the grid. He just took another place there and they approached the south side [00:06:00] corner.

 

They go by us and trigger the timer and the gap is 0.9 of a second James by in second place James Byrne going really well this weekend. He rolled that car yesterday would you believe at just where they are now into the gravel rolled it two or three times. Big lock up for somebody there into the gravel should be able to get going if they can keep the momentum up. If you slow down or you give it too much, well the car would sink in the gravel down there turn one castle corner. But James Byrne, well known to us, he’s a rookie champion in the Fiesta Zetec Fiesta and having to go on legends now. Loves it. So he was telling me he rolled the car yesterday. He said just he [00:06:30] got a bump draught from somebody on the way to turn one he braked a little bit later car got slightly out of shape, tangled with another car and went over with their very strong little cars and POB had the car fixed and he was back out for race three yesterday.

 

He’s back out today and he’s repaying them with a superdrive and that I think is Dennis Lambert as if looks like Dennis Lambert in the gravel down at turn three that’ll give us wave yellows. Martins are running over to him now. Might put a safety card out but I’m not sure. It probably is a little bit in the firing line but that’ll be, that decision will be made. One floor below me on the tower and I can see the marshals [00:07:00] running for they get the safety car board. They are the safety car’s being dispatched. The Alpha Rome, Mayo, Ireland Alpha Junior is already under the Alpha Mayo Bridge. Ly enough waiting for these guys. They’ve all seen the flags, they’ve all got plenty of experience so the safety guard will bring them around now at a reduced speed while the car’s being removed from the gravel, there probably is already a snatch unit.

 

That’s one of the pickup trucks on its way down there. There it is. Just in the background. They’ll take a shortcut, no doubt across the rally, cross track, all massively experienced and highly trained here at Modelo Park. That’s exactly what they’re going to do. They’ll hitch [00:07:30] that car up and pull it clear probably onto the infield and once it’s back on the infield, we’ll able to go race again. That’s bahrain’s bends. You can see there. Great shot seven A and seven B out the back. Two right hand corners, then back up to Bahr, bends the right and the left. That infield area is where the new drift track is going to be built. Then down to this long, long left-hander. Very hard, especially front wheel drive cars. You scrub the front tyres off there very easily so a late turn in there and get a bit of rotation before it’s what you need.

 

Then hard on the throttle back here. It’s easy to [00:08:00] talk our way through it now because they’re going up reduced speed. This is paddock corner or Nordic spirit corner, so where they took you break or settle the car, get it set up on the suspension and then hard on the power and in over that inside curb it’s a great corner to watch. You’ll always get a future of photographers on the outside there because you get a couple of two wheel moments. Legends now coming up towards us. They to greatly reduced speed. Great job by Nico Franke there to lead them at low speed wave jealous in the Marshalls. Big thanks for our orange army here at Mondello Arc to do a great job.

 

So that [00:08:30] is the safety car, which is, oh, it’s not the safety car, that’s the snatch unit. Of course the safety car should be still on the main street I think. There it is. That’s the Alpha Romeo Jr. Ev All electric from Alpha Rome, Mayo Ireland and the Alpha Rome Mayo Bridge in the background. Very proud of that. Looks absolutely fantastic here at Mondello Park. So we have a couple of alphas down here now we’ve got a Julia Velo shape and we have that Alpha Romeo Jr. Flashing lights on for the safety car. So the flashing light to the safety car signal that the race is under safety car obviously, but when that light goes out, when that light stops [00:09:00] flashing, it’s a signal to us and it’s a signal to the drivers behind that. The car will come in at the end of that lap laptop, we will be going racing and after that it’s down to Nico Franke here.

 

It’s down to the leader to dictate the speed. He can go slowly or he can go up to racing speed. Once the alpha has pulled in or is pulling in it’s snatch unit, just deciding what they’re going to do here, they should be able to hook up that card Dennis Lambert pretty easily those pickups are well able to negotiate the gravel trap, so we’ll see how that goes. Probably going to wait until the pack goes by before he tackles it. They come down to turn three famous corner at Mondello Park Duckhams [00:09:30] Corner for many, many years. Really fast first apex and then you’ve got to straighten the car up as best you can. Get hard on the brakes and get the car slowed down before turning in and get up the hill. And there’s a technique there to get early on the power to get up the hill. A lot of Mondello specialists get a good run up the hill and they try and get alongside of the mud. Then s we’re not using the SES today of course we’re using the long left-hand Bridgestone corner, which brings us up. Kennedy’s Horizon out onto the international news today. While they’re looking a little bit misty out there, we have had a few spots of rain.

 

[00:10:00] We’re hoping the rain holds off because we’re looking for a few spots on the camera there as well. So I think the rain is a little bit of rain coming. We can see how turns three there on the right-hand side of that picture up the top. You can see the hill of Allen direction there and once you can see that the weather is usually going to be okay but the wind is very strong so when that happens, all bets are off or the teleport are being used here to remove that car. That’s Dennis Lambert’s car and number 37, always beautifully prepared.

 

[00:11:00] So there we go. The car just being picked up. They’re very good at picking these cars up. They know exactly what they’re doing. They never get damaged. They’ve used the teleporter for many years. Those long reach forks can get in under any race car and bring them back in so they’ll just, I’d imagine that will be just brought back into the infield. So the crew, the snatch unit heading down. Meanwhile the safety car is coming very slowly. Interesting stuff. If you look at the safety card out on the loop, the race [00:11:30] controller obviously slowing them right down because if they can get these cars off to centre of the track, watch the lights. This is good management. They were on the radio to the safety car. Obviously it’s to slow it right, right down because it’s a chance we can get running here. Look at this, it’s snatch unit gone to the inside. If the teleporter gets off the track and goes to the inside, there’s a chance we’ll go back running on this lap. Good work by the officials because they’re slowing them right down. Will we see the lights coming off in the safety car? It’ll be marginal here. I think we might, there’s still flashing. If we get another lap, it’ll take ages. Is that car going to peel off?

 

[00:12:00] Still flashing lights. It looks like it might have to stay out for No it’s it. No, that sounded like the famous joke. They’re on the off. They’re on the off. But no, looks like we get another lap though. Well it was a good effort and we almost got running again, but not quite. All this is done for safety. If those cars weren’t fully off the track, if the clerk of the course downstairs wasn’t happy that they were well cleared the track, he’s not going to let them go. The entertainment is secondary to the safety here, so that’s going to slow us right then. In fact, I think we’re going to finish this race under Safety Cars a result, you know, because the short, [00:12:30] the legend Legends do three races a day and not two. So the races are shortened and this happened yesterday as well and indeed that’s what’s happening.

 

There’s the chequered flag and there’s your results. So Nico Franke takes that one from James Byrne who’ll be delighted with that. They’re both rookies. That’s a rookie one too in Irish legends. Well done to those guys and they weren’t just up there for fun, they had great pace both and they weren’t being cut too much. So Sylvie Bartlett in third place, Sylvie x Fiesta, STS and vs. I think he’s very quick as well. Scott Jackson, Richie power, another rookie in fifth today for the rookies. Then Declan burke, Lee malone, Gordon [00:13:00] Brown, Michael Barrable, Willie Lawrence, Richard Spence, Derek hogan and Jonathan Patterson. And the only car we’re missing is that blue card of Dennis Lambert, which we saw being lifted by the tally porter. So that’s Legends. We’ll come back in now and we’ll be back on track in a few minutes time with the SEAT Super Cup Ireland cars.

 

[00:14:00] So those few spots around we spoke about are coming down a little bit heavier. The wind is bringing them and there aren’t heavy clouds out over turn three, but certainly there is a little bit of rain on the windows of the commentary box here, not what we wanted today. We’re hoping to chase lap records and the reason we’re talking about lap records so much so early [00:14:30] is there’s been a lot of work done here at Ello Park in terms of resurfacing. We spoke about this at the last meeting, but also Paddock Corner or Nordic Spirit Corner, the last fast left-hander that’s been surfaced, not just through it, you’ll see it from the drone footage actually later on you’ll see the colour change, the approach to Nordic Spirit Corner and all the way through it and of course it joins back onto the resurface element which goes to the back of the grid.

 

So they should be able to carry a lot more speed through there. We did see a new Irish tour, our lap record yesterday, Evan Walsh in his EP three Civic, incredibly quick smash [00:15:00] the record three times and very close to the lap record for the say at Super Cups, which is what he was aiming for in his home. Built on the Civic. There’s the tower on the left. You could probably see me up there somewhere. There’s the two Alpha Romeos, well actually one of them, one is still out on track. The alpha Julia is there in the pit lane. Junior is just coming back in on the right of your picture there.

 

So SEAT’s Super Cup just behind them. They’re being released from assembly and it’s Stephen Wright, the X rally man [00:15:30] who’s on pole position in this one. Great run for him. We’re on board with Michael Clune or Victor Cullen I should say sorry, in the beacon car. That’s it. Great shot on board. Victor Cullen coming off the back of an incredible weekend at Bronze Hatch where he blitzed everybody in the LOEs COR as he won the pre 66 touring our classes up against top name drivers and touring car drivers. He’s absolutely loving his historic racing in the uk. He’s had a few issues with the SEAT this year, but he’s looking for a good run today at Mondello Park. The grid is [00:16:00] Stephen Wright, David McGuire, Paul parr, David McGuire, Jr. Barry English, Victor Cullen, max Turley, Brian Berry, mark Turley, Adrian McNally, Donal downey and Port McQuaid. So have a look at this car. Left-hand drive just two pedals. Factory built tour guard. These are not home-built cars. They’re factory built by say at sport in Spain I think and pedal shift DSG box 340 brake horsepower, although the front car is after qualifying will have less [00:16:30] pole mammal of 300, 3 10 for P two.

 

So there they go out of the pit lane, down towards turn one furiously weaving around. What they’re actually trying to do is get heated into the back tyres of these cars like most front wheel drive saloon cars, they’re set up, lose that Dave McGuire stopping it is Dave McGuire Sr. Has stopped on the exit of terminal. There he is, the drone shot. Just catching him there. Jerry McGuire and son’s car should be starting on the outside of the front row. It’s Sout, it’s [00:17:00] starting. He’s got it going again. Some sort of a systems reset that can sometimes be a little bit glitchy these cars, but he’s got it going. I’m sure he can make his way back up through the pack and get to that front row position 12 of these cars out firing the car around. We were just saying they’re set up a little bit loose at the back so they don’t have a whole lot of luck.

 

These cars either to catch a moment when it happens. They’ve got plenty [00:17:30] of power to pull them back but they don’t have much luck in terms of opposite lock. So the front couple first locks could be a little bit sketchy. They try and push the under steer out as far into the race as they can so they set them up quite loose at the rear to kill the undersea and that means they can be a little bit tricky on the opening lap. It’d be hard to get heated into now because that’s a cool wind with that little bit of rain. Let’s see. No problem to Stephen Wright. He’s a rally man. We won’t be phased by any of this. Very, very quick driver. Dave McGuire hasn’t come up there yet. Paul parr has been a revelation since came into this class, [00:18:00] well known to us at Modelo Park from his exploits in Z tex and in fact he’s leading the Fiesta St championship this year. But

 

Baxter, the English and

 

Victor Cullen on row three, max Turley and row four, mark Turley and Adrian McNally, row five and Donal downey and Ric McQuaid on the final row of the grid. [00:18:30] Adrian McNally went really, really well. He’s backed down the grid a little bit, but he was very good in Oton Park. I was over there and Nile Murray jumped into Barry English’s car and won both races. But in the second race, McNally got the lead and he really made Nile Murray work for it and even after Nile got by him, he stayed well clear of anybody else. So he’s well able to steer that Another ex rally man getting used to the circuits. It’s a different discipline speaking to Roy White and the STS about it this morning that you need to be a lot more [00:19:00] disciplined behind the wheel of race car sometimes, whereas he’s in rally and it can be about commitment and even borderline bravery. So really different stuff but obviously Stephen Wright has managed to do it all to perfection.

 

[00:20:00] Say super cups ready to go now. 12 cars on the grid, five second boards already up. Watch the lights on the Alpha Mayo bridge. The lights are red once they go out, we’re go, go, go and away we go. And who’s it going to be? Oh, Stephen Wright makes a cracking start. Somebody else Turly making a good start from further back. Great drone shot ’em coming towards us here. That’s unbelievable. Now we’re on back in a normal camera down into Castro corner for the first time. It’s right, it’s McGuire, it’s Dave McGuire Jr. He’s managed to get the better with the [00:20:30] second row starter. Somebody getting out of shape on the outside there. Brian Berry. That was somebody ahead of him going a little bit wide. It can’t be in corner on the way down now to turn three, we’ll try and work out where everybody is.

 

It’s McGuire one and McGuire two, certainly second and third. Then it looks like Par and that’s Victor Cullen right with them? No it’s not. It’s Barry English. And it’s Victor Cullen isn’t it? Yeah, and then it’s Turley, then Barry McNally Downey side by side with it’s early two Turley’s out there. Of course Mark and Max that’s marked early side by side with Downey down into Bridgestone, [00:21:00] the long, long left hand corner and then up the hill and Stephen Wright Macon his escape here on cold tyres. You have to be a little bit careful these say on cold tyres but he’s not afraid to throw it around. That’s a rally man for you. There’s always different lines around this corner from everybody. Somebody getting out of shape. That’s what we spoke about the back end, getting a bit loose on Max Turley’s car. He’d be looking to move forward.

 

Max Turley would be feeling he should be at the front out of the way. Dad, I’m coming through Dave McGuire Jr down the inside of his dad. See you later. That’s bragging rights at the McGuire table on Monday evening [00:21:30] and right with them now is Paul parr who’s been going really well this year in the SEAT team orders perhaps. Who knows? Great stuff though. Dave McGuire Jr. Wonder has he got the base to get after? Well he’s got the pace to get after Stephen Wright maybe. Let’s see, wipers on some of the cars out there as they head across the international loop that long left-handed back now towards Nordic Spirit Corner for the first time it’s right and it looking very quick, is David McGuire Jr.

 

That first group altogether and it gap a little bit [00:22:00] back to Charlie, then I look down the inside for Barry. English doesn’t come off. Victor Cullen stays high and wide to try and get a better exit. He does get a better exit and gets a run up to the back of Barry English. Now as they come down the straight then it’s Turly right with them it’s maxed. That is so fastest lab I relative, oh, look at this. The two McGuires have cut the litre already down into turn one big lock up there from somebody. It looks like it’s that Turly. No, it’s McNally actually. And he goes very wide on the exit as a result, but a big lockup on the way into Cape Castro corner that time. It’s all closed [00:22:30] up at the front, isn’t it? And they’re all coming up to him side by side that colour and Turly I think is it?

 

It is Victor Cullen on the inside. Max Turley on the outside in the background, top of the screen there. Victor Cullen holds them off and that should allow Brian Berry to get up boat and I’m going to slow them down a lot all the way up the hill and look at the gap now in front of them. But the battle is on because the two McGuires were on board. There are good stuff. Oh, that’s well done by Victor. Just let ’em through there entirely. Straight on and into the gravel. So Victor Cullen used the head, you can have the place if you want, but only momentarily down the inside for [00:23:00] the lead goes McGuire Jr. Look at the dust on the inside, right? Sits around the outside, but McGuire’s got it done. He really is becoming a top tint operation there, isn’t he? Dave McGuire Jr.

 

This is great stuff from him. Those are cracking move, not often you can buy somebody there. Oh, daddy’s following him through down the inside of the brakes life and the old dog. Yet Dave McGuire gets it up and all of a sudden Stephen Wright finding himself back to the third place and boxed out badly. So great racing from to SEAT was Wright McGuire Jr. McGuire s Senior going by us. But it’s changed again and Wrights dropped another place. [00:23:30] Pars stuck it up the inside of him into Bahrain’s bands. They’re all slowing down a little bit, are they? It’s crazy for me to say it’s probably quite wet out there. We got a safety car. No, we do. We’ve got flags out all over the place and safety car’s been dispatched. I knew there was something happening. It can’t be that easy. So the safety car’s been dispatched.

 

I’m not quite sure why. So apologies for that. Maybe the drone will find where the car is. Something that turn three stationary yellow there is. It’s the Turley car, isn’t it? Yet the S, that’s what it is. Just at the back of the pits, that’s Max Turley embedded in the Mondello Park gravel. That gravel gets raked on a Friday [00:24:00] before a race meeting. He’d be wishing it happened, but that’s a very hard one to get out of. You can get out of the gravel trap at turn two if you keep it pinned. He’s actually made contact with the wall there. The drone getting us a great shot. Maybe we could zoom in a bit closer there with the drone. Fantastic footage from See It Live really is. I’m loving these drone shots. There we go right there. We’ll almost see the expression on his face in a minute if they zoom in anymore.

 

So Charlie was on a charge. I did say he wouldn’t be happy with his great position. He’s very quick. He wanted to get by, but he got alongside Victor Cullen on the way back up. Victor just let him down the inside, turned in across the back of him and Turley couldn’t get the car stopped [00:24:30] unfortunately. But that leads David McGuire Jr. Leading this one from Dave McGuire, Sr. Paul parr, Stephen Wright, Barry English, Victor Cullen in six, Brian Berry, Adrian McNally, mark Turn, Donal downey and Port McQuaid. That’s our order now. It’s just one car out but they have to move that car. It’s going to take a while there we are snatch unit already in there. That’s why the Scrutinies always demand that you’ve got a hook front and back on your car. I used to always see that as an inconvenience, but actually if you didn’t have one it would take age to get those cars out the gravel. So good stuff. That’s Barry [00:25:00] Swan. Great to see Barry back at Mondello Park. He’s hooking it up there. He was talking to him last night. So the Pania BioCar about to be pulled out of the gravel of Charlie. Won’t be happy with that but he’ll be back out there for race two. He’s very quick. Max Turley, but Dave McGuire doing an al perfection slice by us dad that took the lead with a great move into Lola Corner, the quick right-hander.

 

[00:25:30] So SEAT’s given us plenty of excitement. Most of it of course coming from McGuire Jr.

 

[00:26:00] We’re going to put ’em into the car to pull it out, but obviously there’s an issue [00:26:30] there. I wonder is there damage on the front right of the car? There probably is because they’re not keen to pull the cart out just yet. So conversations going on, there might be a teleporter again, I wonder is there damage to the front right of that car? It’s actually in quite deep. You don’t normally make such a dent in those barriers. The tyres is in behind the conveyor belt, for want of a better word, are designed to take the energy away when the car hits the bank as opposed to the old fashioned days when you connected the bank. So you might save a chassis leg or something, but that looks like it’s got in pretty hard there. So the Alpha Mayo safety car still leading them [00:27:00] around, they’re all weaving around but the clock keeps ticking. So over 15 minutes late race, we’ve just got eight minutes left to go here.

 

So David McGuire senior will [00:27:30] be thinking this will do first and second, David McGuire Jr. Will be going, let me go racing so I can pull away from all the older guys again and show them how fast they am. The mindset being completely different between young drivers and old drivers. Here’s the teleport that’s going to get used. Plenty of diesel today. It’s already been used twice and we’re only getting going here at Mondello Park. So yeah, it looks like there’s probably some damage to the front ride of that car. I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m sure he said there’s a Murray Motorsport car, they’d be well capable of getting that car fixed before race two later this afternoon. So even though it’d be a little bit depressed now, he’ll get that car back. Tip top condition where motor sport happened on the grid for race two. [00:28:00] While all this is going on, the Ctec Safety Fiesta ZT Techs are packing the assembly area ready to go. Oh, Dave McGuire Jr. Pulls off onto the rally cross track just on the right of the shot. The leader is gone, the leader is gone. Just look at that. I’m not sure what’s happened there, but he’d be absolutely gutted with that out of the car. David McGuire.

 

There he is, out of the car. That’s such a shame. Charged his way to the front. An absolute star in Irish salute car racing lately, but he will be absolutely gutted with [00:28:30] that one. Must be overheating or there must be some reason he was quite no steam known nothing but he just pulled in there for some reason and he looks absolutely distraught. He’s got to get back into his fiesta St shortly where he started in the front row later on. But he really was looking very, very strong in that one. That is such a shame for David McGuire Jr. But we will see him in action hopefully in the second say race and certainly in two Fiesta St. Races. He’s leading that championship later on this afternoon.

 

Meanwhile, [00:29:00] the rest of the cars are snaking around the outside. The clock’s still taking, we’re down to six minutes, 21 now. Red flags are out and I’m seeing red flags around. In fact the timing of got it there, red flags come up the timing screen, there’s obviously a big problem with that car. I’m not happy about lifting it away. So they’ve got it up on the forks now, but yeah, it’s a third of the course just deciding to bring them to a halt. We’ll get a restart. Six minutes to go. We probably will get a very, very short restart

 

[00:30:00] Onboard with Victor. Colin is great. I want to be able to talk to these drivers from commentary [00:30:30] because they used to do it years ago and the James Hardy races in Australia, tricky. Dickie Johnson, Martin Kevin is in my ear telling me that see it live, have got the gear to do it. So next time we’re going to be able to annoy Victor Cullen maybe or somebody else in one of these races. It would be wonderful now to be able to have a chat with these guys and see where the mindset is because inside these top line factory built race cars, oh the red flag are being reg gridded. I could see from underneath Safety Car, Jacqueline Nolan driving the safety car there, the Alpha Romeo Jr. Fully electric vehicle. We’ve got a fleet of electric vehicles here at Mondello Park. Now we also [00:31:00] have e-course for the early drive.

 

If you’re not old enough to drive on the road yet you can book into our early drive and come down and do safety lessons and learn all about the dynamics of cars and road safety and then get out and drive these e-course at Mondello Park. Yeah, the car is pretty damaged front, right fixable though definitely Maurice will be on that as soon as it lands in. So Barry Swan just leading them in. Great work with the recovery cruise as ever, but it probably just as well to neutralise the race. So they probably will need another, [00:31:30] they probably will need another warmup up. So a great shot of all the cars there on the main Street safety car staying out there. We’re just wondering are they going to do a rolling start and let them go again as they are, [00:32:00] they’re not griding them up. So that’ll be interesting. The race has been stopped though with a red flag and the clock has been stopped. More importantly. So be Roger of any entertainment

 

[00:32:30] There. You’re the brake horsepower on the car that’s we’re looking for. So the Johnstown Estate Hotel, not too far from here. They sponsored the championship. Paul parr, because that’s his name obviously 1 4 2 because that’s his race number. But three three oh is the brake horsepower that Paul parr is running. So these cars all have 340 brake horsepower, great shot there par, but after qualifying, whoever gets on pole, so Stephen Wright gets 300 brake horsepower so he loses 40 brake horsepower. That’s probably why he fell back a little bit. I’m not suggesting it was the move wasn’t inspirational by Young [00:33:00] McGuire. So Dave McGuire Sr. I can see his car from here and it says three 20 brake horsepower on the windscreen. So he’s running three 20 and then Paul parr, as we said, slightly reduced, but David McGuire junior in fourth place was the first car to still have the full brake horsepower. So all the rest of ’em, if there isn’t a circular sticker around the window, they’re running 340 brake horsepower. But the first three do get penalised after qualifying to slow them down just a little bit, bunch them up and give us better racing here on the Beacon Hospital [00:33:30] live stream from Mondello Park showing seven minutes on the clock so it’s rounded up to seven minutes. So it looks like we’re going to have a seven minute run now.

 

[00:34:00] So the grid staff going down to the driver’s, explaining to them what’s happening. So with one minute board showing there

 

[00:35:00] Way to go. Great shot there of the Elfa Romeo Safety car coming under the bridge. More importantly to SEAT’s Super Cup Ireland class or getting going again, they’ll have one warmup lap. In fact it’s going to be a rolling start. A safety car, restart. I haven’t done that done seen that done before, but I do like it. So David McGuire [00:35:30] Jr. Our senior I should say has been around Mondello Park for many, many years, for more years than I care to remember Who used to say that? Har Moore wasn’t it? Well he’s been racing since probably the eighties and hundred cc carts arrived into Mondello Park then in the Fiau cup of manufacturing supported championship. Moved up into Punto Punto of Arts, saw massively experienced and loves racing these sales. They McGuire Jerry McGuire and Son Bodywork car there. He’s now inherited the lead from the son who’s sitting on the bank. No [00:36:00] doubt over there is he or Junior, maybe he’s come back into the paddock, but so junior, I will have to watch this one from somewhere else. Be hard to watch but hopefully they get that car going again.

 

So the order is Dave McGuire, Paul parr, Stephen Wright, Barry English, Victor Cullen, Brian Berry, Adrian McNally, mark Turley, Donal downey, port McQuaid. We are missing David McGuire Jr. And we are of course missing Max Turley Turley’s car already back in the paddock on already heading [00:36:30] for the for Murray Motorsport running. I can actually see Max Turley walking down the paddock, so he’d be hoping to get a big push on and get that car fixed and get out there and show us how quick he is this afternoon. Still spots of rain coming in. Oh Victor Cullen, fire in the car around. That’s exactly what he’s trying to do. Get a bit of heat into the back tyres. He hasn’t been racing that long but he’s plenty of experience. Victor, he’s been doing really well in the UK historic racing lately. Hoping to have one of those pre 66 touring car races at Mondello Park next year, 2026.

 

So [00:37:00] more details of that coming up soon, but he drives a Lotus Cortina over there so they all need to bunch up a little bit. Now this is where you see sometimes a little bit of inexperience we shouldn’t see in this class. You see it in the classes that have rookies, but the rain is coming down properly, isn’t it? Yeah, that wind has just brought in. In fact the hill of Allen has disappeared out over turn three. Never a good sign. Proper rain coming. These cars are on slick racing tyres and they’re set up pretty stiffly at the back. I don’t think anyone will have put a wet set up on these cars. I would say they’re all running full stiff [00:37:30] dry conditions because when they left paddock assembly, that’s how it was. McGuire slows them all right down, doesn’t go out for a full racing line, drops the hammer and in fact it’s third place man, Stephen Wright who gets caught napping badly and Wright has caused himself a load of time there.

 

Somebody else behind him that’s very English a little bit slowed up. Victor Cullen though, right on his bumper. Doesn’t lose any time at all if they head down towards turn one. So already par beginning to hassle David McGuire for the lead here. [00:38:00] Par Hunt was from Oval racing I think a few years ago. Very quick driver have really settled in well in these sets. Stephen Wright in third place. The rally man won’t mind a bit of sideways action but he’s well down on power. The punishment for getting full position in this class of course is they take 40 brake horsepower off you from race one. It’s all coming down into turn. That’s where you’re losing a trailing rather than long braking zone trying to get the car turned in. You just waiting for the back to step out there in these cars. They’re all controlling it quite well.

 

They’ll know to get the car slowed down the straight line and turn it in while they’re on the power. So you can pull the front foot back street, look [00:38:30] at the rain now coming down quite heavily here at Mondello Park McGuire with a good lead though they’re EQU distance the first three and Barry English got away from Victor Cullen a little bit on that lap. Brian Berry next up then it’s McNally, then it’s Downey, and then McQuaid onboarded Victor Cullen, you’re watching for the snap over steer here, but he’ll play on the Bower. Very different lines from everybody there. You can see they’re living lines down there with the red wet track. That’s Donal downey. He’s holding the inside line all the way through that one. That’s Brian Berry closing down. Stephen Wright [00:39:00] who gets out of shape. That’s what I was talking about. Back end of the car letting go and he has to correct it and by that stage you’ve gone a little bit wide that lets English right up onto the back of him now as they come back up the hill towards Bahrain’s Benzs named after Martin Brain who bought the circuit in 86 and did all the extension, did the tower.

 

I’m in the grandstand. The corporate suites rebuilt everything there. He’s Barry English. Going to have a look now surely will he take a lunge down the inside Now it’s covered by right Victor Co and Barry coming with them. Then a little bit of a gap back to that’s McNally and Downey and that’s all of our runners. [00:39:30] Is it still there? Right. New to the championship. His first run in Mondello Park in one of these cars. So up the hill now and look at this slick racing tyres. Remember it’d be hard to get these cars stopped. We’re all managing it though. There really isn’t anybody inexperienced in this field. But it’d be difficult conditions out there in slick racing tyres and no doubt it just light up the fronts. Victor colour trying to get it straightened. You can see that onboard taking the lock off and then hard on the power.

 

Look at his right foot, keeps it pinned all the way down under the Al Romeo Bridge. Leave it as late as he dares to get on the brake pedal. [00:40:00] Gets to stop. He’s got Brian Berry right with him now to the lefthand where McGuire, who’s beginning to ease away fast as lap is to Steven, right? But that’s from a rolling start. So it’s McGuire par, right English, Cullen Barry McNally Downey and McQuaid onboard again with Victor Cullen as he heads down towards turn three, the double apex right hand corner. He’s trying to get back on terms with this right English battle. English against the nose, almost up the inside but not quite right. Gets back of the bar just about managed to pull it back and thought he got the nose down the inside there. But [00:40:30] more traction perhaps on the outside of that corner when it gets a little bit damp. This corner you can go off easily at this corner. It’s off Camber actually, when the road is greasy you can just pull into the outside and into that gravel as right heads up the hill and bar English right behind him. And Michael Clune. I was going to say Victor Cullen and Brian Berry.

 

That’s them there. That’s Cullen and Barry, absolutely. Together she’s Brian Berry out that much comes out sporadically. Pretty experienced races. [00:41:00] Fi Punto maybe must be 20 years ago with Sean Woods racing and did pretty well, disappeared for a while and then came back and loves running in these sail. He actually ran with Sean Woods in the sail course Sean has passed away. We always remember him here at Montello Park though. Great character, great engineer, and I’m not a bad driver either. He would’ve loved these conditions. He’d be watching everybody’s driving technique and commenting on it. So maybe he is all way out of shape there for somebody Who’s that? That’s par held onto it. Well, but the curbs upset the car and the back end got away there. So it’s very, [00:41:30] very skittish out there. Down the inside just ahead of this battle. English has taken that place away, I think.

 

Let’s watch the top of the screen. There’s McGuire. He’s our leader then it’s par. Yeah, English has got passed, right? Good. Move down the inside there. Just slice them down there. Par right wants it back. Looks to the outside. Barry has a sniff of the inside of Victor Cullen but not getting it done. Look how gentle Victor Cullen is on the turn in there with the steering wheel. It’s like walking on eggshells trying to drive these cars in the wet. Especially on slick racing tyres. You got to be so careful. It would be really easy to push too hard to park it in the gravel, [00:42:00] but getting into a groove now is Dave Mc. That’s cut fast up somebody off. That’s isn’t it? No, it’s par. Yeah, Paul parr. He’s done well though he didn’t stop it. He’s getting it going. I was just going to say it’d be really easy to go off of these conditions.

 

Second place cars off. Paul parr down the outside. That’s everybody else Open place. That’s English second right there. But under big pressure now is Victor Cullen. See Barry moving around behind him. We’re on board. You can almost see in the rear view mirror there. So Victor discarded the inside here at the second apex, gets it turned in [00:42:30] Ireland power back up the hill. He’s now up to fourth place. Victor Cullen, he’s seconded the championship I think. So this will be no harm as they come back down towards us. Very thinking it’ll run around the outside brave stuff. And these conditions, it can be very slippery in the outside of those corners. He’s actually trying to do is get a run up the hill. But Victor Cullen’s got a good exit. Barry goes to the inside, not going to get it done there. Victor has that covered.

 

There’s David McGuire senior still motoring away English. Probably a danger man here in second place. He’s very much the one on the move. There’s Cullen and [00:43:00] Barry now together, Barry with a better exit. But Victor sees it coming and moves to the inside straight away. Brian Berry thinks about a look to the outside, but you’re not going to make that work in these conditions. I feel both harden the brakes down through the gears now do that first Apex seven a second Apex seven B. There’s the buses to Sally Ngan. According to Brian Chu many years ago. Oh and again, he has a look to the inside. Victory just covers it. He’s quite calm isn’t he? No big swerves. Just nice and easy moves to the right. Not going to be a gap there. You can go around there if you like, but Victor will have the insight for this one.

 

What he’s looking to do, [00:43:30] he is got a switch back here, but I think Victor has that covered. He does. He’s already on the inside. He knows his way around Mondello Park. He’d love to get this forward place today in these difficult conditions, but really challenging him now is Brian Berry. So it’s McGuire English, right and Cullen and in fact Victor is catching, I think he’s possibly catching that car in front of. See he is. He moves right in there on the brakes up the inside. Can he get it stopped? He can quite easily. He gets into the apex. Oh he gets a kiss on the back bumper from Berry there, but he’s definitely catching Stephen Wright great onboard here. So he come out onto the [00:44:00] main strait. He’s taking a good lump of time there out of Stephen Wright. Let’s look at the lap time. Stephen Wright 2 0 4 Victor Cullen, 2 0 3 chequered flag Chequered flags and that’s it. I didn’t see it there guys. Apologies for that. Dave McGuire, Barry English, Stephen Wright and Victor Cullen is the order at the end of that one. So great race, good entertainment from the say at Super Cup Ireland bar.

 

[00:44:30] So great stuff from say at Super Crops. Next up will be Fiesta Zetec and it’s the Ctech Safety, the West Dublin Safety Supply Company and branded clothing wear company. Well known to us here at Mondello Park of course. And Neil Murphy will lead them out in his CEC safety Fiesta Z tech van that [00:45:00] we use as a safety car for that class. He’s Victor Cullen, come back into park for me. Be happy with that. Good bunch of points for him, but the great drive by David McGuire, Sr. Wasn’t it really calm. And then towards the end of that race he looked very quick, just eased away from everybody else in what would be very, very difficult conditions. So the order McGuire English and Stephen Wright are top three. Then it’s Colin Barry McNally, Downey Parr, porting McQuaid and Mark Turley. Rounding out the top 10 were missing David McGuire Jr. Car. It will be towed in now I would imagine. And [00:45:30] Max Turley whose car needs a little bit of work, but I’m sure we’ll get that done. So still a bit of rain coming down here. It’s quite bright and it’s clearing a little bit over turn three. But the windows of the commentary box have got quite a lot of rain on them here despite that shot, which looks like it’s almost only here at Model Park.

 

[00:46:00] So we [00:46:30] are going to recover the car of David McGuire Jr before the Fiesta take the track. So while they do that, we will just take a quick commercial break.

 

Send me this car. This car goes from 60, no sorry. Oh send me this card. You should try it.

 

We all knew Alfa Romeo Jr. [00:47:00] Learn to love again.

 

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[00:51:00] Hello, GSE.

 

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[00:52:00] We’re back and it is the biggest class of the weekend. Once again at the ICCR. It’s the Ctec Safety Fiesta Zetec Championship and they’re already on their warmup lap. They’re being led around by Neil Murphy in the Ctec Safety Fiesta zec high-speed delivery van as he calls it. So rest of ’em weaving around trying and get some heat into their Z into their Z Tex tyres. Ang tyres run. There’s Neil Murphy [00:52:30] with the flashing light on the roof. He loves doing this. Leads them all around. He’s very much a friend of all the competitors. He pretty much runs the class of the paddock with a clipboard and legging round stickers on cars, organising trophies there he is. Former racer himself years back, used to race Irish strikers, Neil Murphy, but works very hard these days. That company still tech safety. They supply everything from barriers, cones, safety wear masks, hard hats, high-vis jackets, all sorts of stuff.

 

And it also does branded clothing. Does all of our [00:53:00] stuff here at Mondello Park. It supplies a lot of the competitors businesses as well. So business networking at its best. Look behind them though firing the car around as young. Sean McGovern. Quite the character. Sean McGovern. It’s another great tin top young tin top competitor. He’s had a go in his dad’s TCR car. He is had a go in the SEAT Super Cup car. He’s been quick in everything he drives, but he’s chasing this Fiesta Zetec title this year and going really well in qualifying this morning. Rob Barrow will massively experience alongside him. [00:53:30] But the talk of the paddock this morning is third place. Let’s have a look at the third place car there. Kelsey Kirby, incredible performance from her.

 

So Kelsey works with us at Mondello Parkston instructor, but during the week she works for Motorsport Ireland Sport Development. There she is. That’s her in the car. Incredible what a day for her car. Remember 97 tries really hard works on the car herself. Has been trained mechanically and always on a limited budget. But she’s got in scraped herself inside the top 10. Last year she kept saying she wanted to finish [00:54:00] P six in race one, which would give you a poll for race. Two. She gone way ahead of her aspirations this morning. She was quick all through the qualifying session, which was a very, very busy qualifying session. A lot of what looked like racing going on at the qualifying session. But Kelsey kept their head down, dropped back to fifth place and then flyer on the last up sort third place, front row of the grid.

 

So a lot of people very happy with this big support from Ruth and Chris Nugent to Marshalls down at turn one Castro corner for she said they were signalling number three to her when she went by to chequered flag. She was going, no, couldn’t be me. Couldn’t [00:54:30] be me. But she is Kelsey’s third on this one and it’s fantastic to see it. Aidan Mulready, who flies from America to compete at Mondello Park. He’s a Delta Airlines pilot. He’s on the second row of the grid. He’s in the championship. Mixed third in the championship, then it’s Mick Yo. Good run for m yo on row three. Christian Brennan going very nicely in the a. David McGuire are alongside him. Then it’s Michael Moynihan, Mikey mania, leading the rookie championship and Finn Gillespie, number 71 with the headlights on there in the black car in row four. So the rookie’s going really well.

 

Then Philip [00:55:00] Lawless, very well known, was a Mondello Park. Hugely experienced former winner many times in this class. Evan Walsh, alongside him, the Mondello Scholarship car way back is Alan dawson. That’s a championship contender. 48. He’s back on row five, row six alongside Joshua Brown. Then Toby McGuire, junior rally cross champion. Declan Mulready, Samuel Doyle, Chloe Kellett, well up on her first race. Great to see that number 99. Then Keith Lenihan Roy to and Alex McCann, Michael McCardle, Lola Rose Turley, LOR McGivney, Liv Corcoran, Elizabeth Downey and Frayer Burns. [00:55:30] Five, six ladies in this race getting ready to go. McGovern gets an absolute cracker more wheels spin for bearable, but Kelsey managed to out drag mulready for third places. They go under the Alpha Romeo Bridge and racing for the first time here at Mondello Park. Parable’s not done yet. He’s down the outside on the brakes.

 

He’s late, late, late on the brakes. He tries to sit round the outside of McGovern but then tugs in behind him on the exit. Everybody threw there. Some of them going very wide on the outside. Three abreast, two Campion corner, that’s Fin Gillespie. Easily spotted with the headlights on. It’s a great rookie battle. So a [00:56:00] couple of really quick rookies in this one. We will watch out for them when it settles down a little bit. Meanwhile, it is McGovern, bearable and Kirby out front. Then it’s Mulready Christian Brennan locking up just into the back of him a little bit. It’s Q, it’s Mikey mania, then it’s Philip Lawless, then it’s Evan and Finn, the two rookies together. I think somebody going off a little bit the outside collecting it up is that Alex McCann perhaps, but no problem. Kept it pinned and got it back. Nobody getting away just yet.

 

First two, perhaps a couple of lengths clear, but Kelsey not under pressure there as they go through the long left under [00:56:30] and up the hill. Now up Kennedy’s rise heading for Lola Corner, the fast right hand corner and this is great stuff at the front of Z Tex. So Sean McGovern leading from Robert barrable. Kelsey Kirby in third place, going nicely in third place. Then it’s Mulready, it’s Bren, it’s Mick K and that beautiful presented Dungan Auto services car’s always immaculate and Mick’s been well inside the top 10 for the last year. So it works really hard on the car and tries really hard loads of prep going in. That car’s absolutely perfect. It’s worth having a look at [00:57:00] if you are in the paddocks as well. Prepared, as prepared as any salo car in any class. They come back up the hill now long drag and third gear back up the hill for these little zts.

 

They’ve only got about 80 break horse, but they’re very closely matched. They get a lot of technical scrutiny. So there’s eligibility is very high on the agenda here. And the team, the technical team do a great job with them. So no chance to do anything there. That’s Gillespie trying to get by Han Michael Han or Mikey Mania as he is on social media’s a good battle for the zag rookies there. Right in the middle of that, when somebody down the inside of Finn, [00:57:30] not sure who that is, they’re going to split those two rookies up by the look of it. Let’s see who that is when they come back into view here. But oh, Gillespie sits around the outside. That was Joshua Brown. Finn Gillespie works here. He knows it well. He works full-time. Mano Park and that’s caused Joshua Brown, another place. Evan Walsh gets him, but Joshua Brown back down the inside.

 

It’s getting a little bit hectic there. That’s Toby McGuire getting in the mix too as they go by us. It’s Sean McGovern, it’s Rob Barrable. It’s Kelsey Kirby in third place. Aidan Mulready, Christian Brennan, Michael K, Phil [00:58:00] Lawless, Alan dawson, Mohan and Finn Gillespie, the two rookies. Then Joshua Brown, Toby McGuire, Evan Walsh, Declan Mulready, Chloe ett going really nicely there. Fourth I think in the rookies for Chloe ett. What a run for her and her first time out. The clue of course is in the surname there. We’ve never had a slow KT, I don’t think at Ello Park and she’s going really well there. The UL student down to turn three. Great shot of that corner. I never saw it looking like that before and you didn’t realise the two elements of the track get back so close together. But of course they [00:58:30] have to for that hole in the hedge element for Rally Cross. There we go. That’s Lola Rose Turly. Well, she’s had a little bit of contact. The front bumper’s a skew. She’s starting to go very well at the LOH Motorsport car, but again, brand new to it this year.

 

Good battle there between Mulready, Christian Brennan and Mick K and Kelsey Kirby holding them at bay. She’s going nicely in third place here. Big launch down the inside, down the outside there by Christian Brennan. That’ll just slow the three of them down a little bit. Should let Kelsey get away. That’s exactly what it does with its three of breast [00:59:00] on the exit now and M’s got the inside. He might get this done. Mick K could make up two places here. Get himself up to third, fourth, I should say. Maybe a little bit shorter of power, but he’s not shorter break inability. He fires it back down the inside. Perfectly done. Christian Brennan gives him racing room. They’re staying apart. Good driving between those three saloon guard race drivers. That’s what you want to see. You can give someone the squeeze but leave them just enough room for a race car.

 

Christian Brennan did that for Mick K there. There was no contact between the two of them at all as they came through seven A [00:59:30] and B. So K going nicely. Then it’s Christian Brennan, then it’s Mulready. Who’d lost two places in that one, but I don’t think he’s finished just yet. We know how he’s got loads of pace then it’s Dawson who’s furiously trying to get his way up the grid at bad qualifying for Alan dawson. He’s second in the championship currently, so M Kona has got to get the head down, try and catch Kelsey Kirby, but she’s going really well in third place. That’s a good battle. They’re coming up the hill there now it’s MK Christian Brennan, it’s Mulready Dawson. Lawless Mohan and Finn [01:00:00] Gillespie, isn’t it? It is great stuff. And behind Finn Gillespie is Toby McGuire in the brain. Green card Junior Rallycross champion starting to really go well in these Fiesta ZT techs. Now there’s parable, there’s Kelsey Kirby.

 

So the fastest lap McGovern, 12 dead, eight tenths quicker than anybody else and in fact bearable way clearer of anyone else as well. So big gaps at the front of the Z tech grid, not what we’re used to in this class, but Sean McGovern has a huge [01:00:30] amount of pace in hand here. He works down here as an instructor so he will know the international loop elements of this pretty well. That’s the area most drivers are not used to, but that’s the area that a lot of the corporate activity goes on. It’s a one kilometre circuit on its own. Joins up with the national today to make this into the international circuit, but Sean McGovern will happily drive anything from tractors to Fiesta Zetec to anything at all around Mondello Park. So he’s very experienced down here and obviously very talented too. He’s leading by 1.5 seconds at the end of that first lap, second lap I should say from Parable Kirby Co. [01:01:00] Brandon Mulready, DS Lawless, Han and Gillespie and that’s your top 10.

 

You can see a good shot of where everybody is there and in fact McGovern just driving away from Barrable who’s left everyone else for dead but Kelsey Kirby going nicely here. She’s not being caught. Make no mistake. She’s in third place on merit and on pace here. Great to see you Christian Brennan beginning to haul in Mke again. Certainly in a straight line it looked like Mke didn’t quite have the power of Brennan last time. Once again, Brennan motors up to him and gets laid on the brakes there. Dawson is. Next up he’s got by Mulready. [01:01:30] I think he has. And Philip Lawless looking for a bit of action there as well. Then it’s Mehan, but right behind Mehan is the Mondello Park, Carfin Gillespie. So great rookie battles. Evan Walsh is third rookie. Chloe K’s fourth, Alex McCann fifth Lola Rose Turley sixth Freya Burns seventh and Elizabeth Downey is eighth.

 

So the rookie battles equally as important. They get their own podium, their own trophies, the whole lot. [01:02:00] So Mikko possibly see slightly closer to Kelsey this time we’d have a look. The gap was 1.3 seconds. I think he is closer this time around. She could get herself in a battle here unless Christian Brennan gets up alongside Micky looking pretty quick here. It’s made up a couple of places and very much aiming towards the back of that car of Kelsey. Kirby. Let’s do the bat. Yeah, the gap has been halved. It’s just seven tenths now. Finn Gillespie with the headlights on looking to get down the inside of Minea and moan [01:02:30] covers it to the inside. Gillespie goes back to the outside, just behind this group. So great battle for the rookies. There it is there. Finn Gillespie really beginning to give the workover. Now to Mikey Mohan, that’s Kelsey Kirby.

 

Looks like she’s pulled away just a little bit again in the international loop that’s lawless and mulready. So lawless got ahead of mulready as well. So I wonder is Aidan Mulready in a spot of bother because he’s usually very, very quick, but he’s beginning to just fall back slightly and Kelsey Kirby out over the curbs and she kicks up a little bit of dust. She’s trying so [01:03:00] hard here. She would absolutely love a podium in a Fiesta Z tech race. It’s hard fought. There’s never been an easy podium in this class. It’s well accepted around the paddock that the standard is driving at the front of this one. It’s as competitive as any other class in the paddock certainly, and it mightn’t be expensive but it’s still very, very competitive and mulready is I think beginning to fall back. That’s such a shame.

 

Yeah, eighth place for Mulready started fourth and now the battle’s on Kelsey. Kirby has to defend Mick Yo gets a run at her. [01:03:30] Not much in the straight line but Mick is he going to be able to draw up alongside? He will, but he’ll be on the outside. He draws up alongside and in front, but Kelsey goes back at him on the brakes down the inside. He’d be looking for a switch back. There’s no room there. Kelsey turns in a bit early just to cover it as well. She’s pretty experienced but she goes wide on the exit maybe after the place. Here comes Mick K up the inside. She closes the door leaves in the room with one face and she could get boxed out here. Christian Brennan’s going to get through as well. He does. She fires the car into the righthander, then back to [01:04:00] the left, holds back Alan dawson.

 

But nothing she could do there really just a little bit too committed for the second bit of seven A and B. She’s got plenty of pace. Look at this. She’s on the back of Christian Brennan here and she’s not keen on handing these places away, but it’s been a great drive for Mick Yo to get up to third place. Hasn’t touched anybody and he’s made up quite a few places. He was fifth sixth of the grid. He was certainly on the third row. Dustin thinks of a look up the inside of Kelsey there but not happening. There’s McGovern. Look at that for a gap. Incredible [01:04:30] stuff. He’s down into 11 seven, so great. So there’s that battle now they’re all absolutely together as Dawson begins to move around behind Kelsey Kirby and up the inside there is Fin Gillespie. Has he got it done this time? No, it’s Groundhog Day for him as Mo had just pulled across his bows going under the Al Alpha Romeo Bridge, but Mike Han under huge pressure here and Gillespie gets alongside again on the exit. That’s the battle for the rookie win. It’s as important as the overall win for these less experienced drivers. Remember, and Kelsey Kirby [01:05:00] having to defend now not slowing her slightly. It’s allowing the first two to get away. Christian Brennan, this group Christian Brennan certainly having a go back now at Mikko down at turn three.

 

So 2.11. 762 is a new lap record for Sean McGovern. 2.11.762 that [01:05:30] beats William Kellet’s record from July last year. So we have a new lap record up front. Sean McGovern pole position leading this race and it’s just broken the lap record in the Ssec safety Fiesta. Kelsey Kirby putting up a good fight here. She just got boxed out that time and lost two places but she’s not keen on falling back here. Doesn’t want to leave a cap to Alan Dust. He just pulls out to the inside. She should be able to close the door here so she hasn’t done no and Dawson is down the inside that’s going to cost her another place here through seven A and through seven B. [01:06:00] So that puts Dawson up to fifth place and Kelsey down to sixth.

 

Dawson needs to get by. He needs more places though. He’s going to stay in the running for the championship here at McGovern. Looking dominant out front, that’s a very quick lap. Time 2.11.762. So that battle is now k Brennan, Dawson, Kirby and Philip Lawless coming up to have a look now in the green car right behind Kelsey [01:06:30] where Kelsey is now. If she can stay there, we’ll give her pole position actually for race two sixth place. Did we reverse the top six for race two? Remember in the Ctec Safety Fiesta Zetec championship? Oh, Mick co makes a mistake and goes wide looking not to lose a place. Christian Brennan gets to run, but Mick gets it all under control and gets back across to the pit wall. So if he does get a run, he can have a look at the outside, but he’s very close to him now down the main Strai and Christian Brennan we’re looking to get down the inside all locks up and straight into the back of Mick k upsets.

 

The back of Mick’s car sends him wide [01:07:00] and they’re alongside on the way up, but I think Mick K should be able to hang onto it here at Campion corner. He does. He would’ve been aggrieved with that if he’d lost the place, but he hasn’t. So Mke on the way down to turn three, still in third place looking like his first podium if he can hang on, but it’s anything but easy. Christian Brennan piling on the power now in the ext into the back of him again there just a little kiss between the two. Apexes of turn three trying to get a narrow line on the way up, but Mko unwins to lock, gets on the power and gets a better runup out of there and gets himself a happy gap of a better length, [01:07:30] which is a big gap in a Zec Tyson. Normally it’s Joe, it’s Brennan, it’s Dawson.

 

Kirby Lawless and coming after them. Now is Mulready still hanging on there? So obviously he’s a problem with that, but hopefully they’ll sort that out and find out what it is. He’s not showing the pace he normally does in Mulready and Philip Lawless with a lunge down the inside, but Kelsey Kirby covers that, that sixth place. Very important, the position she’s in now that will give you, oh, Philip Lawless going to get up the inside of her. Saw that coming. He does get alongside. It’s a drag race [01:08:00] now down to seven A and B. These cars normally vary very equal, so Phil should be able to get this done and Didi will down the inside and if everything stays the same that’ll give him whole position for race two.

 

So it’s McGovern Barrable k Brennan, Dawson, lawless Kirby now. So some difference between coming sixth and seventh in race. One sixth will give you pole position in race. One seventh will give you seventh place in race one. So are sixth place difference between those two finishing [01:08:30] positions here far from finished here, Dawson. Now looking to have a go with Christian Brennan and Mick. Yo. Kelsey’s not finished just yet. Takes a lunge at Philip Lawless on the brakes. Doesn’t lose anything on the way out. They’re heading back towards Nordic Spirit corner. Now the left-hander, Dawson having a look now on the brakes.

 

There’s Rob Barrable going through Big, big Gap back. [01:09:00] These guys are a little bit slower because they are dicing of course, and Mick has gone defensive as you’d have to. It’s Q, it’s Brennan, Dawson, lawless, Kirby Mulready, just like that. Oh, Micko a little bit wide that time a cast corner almost allows Brandon up alongside for Campion, but he contains it as they go through there. Third gear now in these cars all the way down to turn three Micko stays to the right. Doesn’t want to leave any gap on the inside. Let’s [01:09:30] go through the first Apex, a little bit of contact again, they’re apart Now in the breaking zone d I’m thinking of a look down the inside. Christian Brennan covers that back up the hill now second gear and into the third. Again coming back towards the main arena we’re covering out front with a gap of 4.9 seconds. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that size of a gap in Fiesta Zetec racing.

 

[01:10:00] Dawson gets a good run there to sheds direct car and having a look now goes to the outside, back to the inside. Christian Brennan will have seen this come. He’s been around racing for many years. Wouldn’t have massively experienced, but he’s pretty quick. Christian Brennan and wouldn’t have the experience of these drivers around them. Mick K came from a background of multi venue auto tests and stuff like that. Big petrol head for many, [01:10:30] many years and started off with a borrowed car a couple of years ago and then they built this absolutely mint machine. They’d dun an auto services car. In fact, I think Jay is building his second car and they will have another one out there. No doubt it’ll be a Maculate in the bill taking quite a while. So it’s q Brennan, Dawson, lawless and Kirby still very much in the mix here. If Kelsey and she’ll be fully aware if she could get one place back, it’ll get her pole for race two or something happens in front because in Lawless now beginning to close in on Dawson there with her and four of these cars.

 

[01:11:00] There we go. Headlights flashing, poll the win and a new lap record for Sean McGovern and what a performance Rob Bar book keeps them on the second place and here they come. What a race from these guys. It’s going to be a podium I think for Mick K, his first podium, but only just Christian Brennan gets the run. It’s neck and neck across the line. Mick k for Dungan Auto Services takes his first ever podium. Christian Brennan. Next up Alan dawson, Philip Lawless, Kelsey Kirby and Aidan Mulready. What a race. Now it’s the rookies and they’re side by side across [01:11:30] the line. The rookies no less entertaining. Michael Moin takes another win, but only just 0.13. One of a second behind was Fin Gillespie. Then at Samuel Doyle, Joshua Brown, Toby McGuire, Declan Mulready, Evan Walsh’s third in the rookies. Then Kent, Keith Lenihan, Mick McCardle, Chloe KT Fort Place. Well done. Chloe First time out. Fiesta Zetec. Then Alex McCann in fifth. Then Lorca McGivney sixth rookie is going to be e Downie.

 

Elizabeth Downey and Liv Corcoran with a great race. [01:12:00] Here they come and just having a look down the inside is Liv Corcoran, but Elizabeth Downey holding her off. These two are good buddies. They’re always knocking around the paddock together but they’re racing really close on track to chequered flag. It’s going to be ready, but it’s just about going to be Elizabeth Downey and the Vink Panther. She takes the place just about great race from those two. So that is for sixth in the rookies for Elizabeth Downey. Then it’s Liv Corcoran, then Freya Burns right with them crossing the line now and are we missing Lola Rose Turly? I think we might be [01:12:30] are she got missing a few laps agos she must have pitted as a result of that damage in the front of the car. Well quite the race from the Fiesta Zetec championship absolutely brilliant and the rookie’s doing really well too, but Sean McGovern is the man of the moment.

 

There’s a man that’s going to be very, very happy in the Dunnigan Motor Services car. Mick Mikko, he has worked so hard. There’s Neil Murphy straight over him. They’re good buddies. These two. So there’d be a handshake or a hug there because that was a great drive from Mikko. Takes his racing very seriously. He puts an awful lot into it. He really does. He’s out jogging and getting his weight down, getting the [01:13:00] weight down in the car. So that’s really, really well earned. That third place is probably the result of 18 months. Hard work if I’m being honest. It’s great to see it from Mick Co McGovern, absolutely dominance pole position. The win and the Lap record, not even Rob Barber could stay with him and Rob is one of the quickest guys around at Mondello Park. So that’s a testament to how well Sean McGovern is going. But yeah, entertainment, great stuff from the Fiesta z Texs all out of the cars is Neil Murphy having a chat with Alan dawson there in the foreground.

 

[01:13:30] So Frayer Burns is coming back in there. Brilliant stuff. All the rookies improving lap times chopping down. Great to see it. We are almost ready to go racing with the next race, which is the Patch Tyre Equipment Junior mini championship. That was Chloe ett just getting out of her car we saw there and they’re the minis in the pit lane. So Kyle Irvine’s on pole position from Leo Richardson who’s been on beat and then the FPS car, Logan Hoey Logan, a bit of a star up on [01:14:00] park. He’s the junior rally cross champion. He runs right at the front of this class. Dun duck man, count loud man, a little bit outside Dun duck but takes his racing very seriously. He got great car control and in Rallycross, certainly him having his dad at the car sorted and he’s well able to drive it. He’s been pretty much dominant and that’s a very competitive junior class as well.

 

So he’s right there in row two and I think FPS might be down here to support him today. So they are, they’re very welcome. Great to see any company that sponsored these young men, Kyle Irvine. Great stuff from him to get out front. [01:14:30] A really good qualifying lap. Leo Richardson is the second guard. It’s POB racing car, the team and Mount Marion car, his dad’s company, third generation and Leo Richardson is here today. His granddad who raced with 2 0 5 GTIs was here back in the day. Great to see it. A lot of second and third generation racers here in a fourth generation racer of course is Jack Fildes. Great to see Jack Phi on the grid. So it is Kyle Irvine from Leo Richardson, Logan Hoey. Jayden Mc Brearty. Good run to the outside of row two. Then TJ [01:15:00] taf, then Jack Fildes. A lot of talent on this grid isn’t there? Martin Finnegan and all was improving on row four Hardy fares alongside him. Then Joe Richardson, another POB car, Nathan Sweeny, Travis Mawhinney, Daniel Heapes, Harry Dowling, Leah McManus, Alex Watkins, Gavin Brown, Keith Burke, Megan Daly and Ryan Donnelly. And that is the order for the patch Tyre equipment Junior mini challenge

 

[01:16:00] Here to come down to the grid and it is Kyle Irvine. A little bit of rain coming down but it won’t phase any of these drivers. They’ve got great car control standard in this class [01:16:30] is absolutely incredible. Somebody there with the hand of the air, just tell him one of their drivers where they need to line up. They’re both right there. There’s Paul O’Brien just in the shorts walking to the front. He’ll be looking for Leo Richardson to move forward. That’s exactly what he’s doing. Waving at Leo, come forward, come forward all the way to your marks. A lot of drivers don’t do that. Well Paul O’Brien’s not going to have any of it if you don’t do it, so come on Leo, move a little bit forward. There you go. He’s happy with that. Kyle Irvine’s dad there too. Right beside the barrier, Leo Richardson’s unbeaten in this class so far he’s won four races [01:17:00] in a row.

 

That’s the command of the outside of the front row. Car number 23 Logan Hoey in the FPS car on row two, nowhere near his marks. He needs to move forward there. Logan given about two or three feet away. He’s not even on his grid box alongside him as Brti in the stables car. Then Ted Young Taf going really well. 22 beautifully prepared Car of Jonathan Phi son Jack Phi. He’s fourth generation racer here. Mondello Park, Martin Finnegan going really well. Another man coming from great history and all the rest of the way they go on by Richardson stalls [01:17:30] hopefully won’t get collected now They all see him. Can he get the car restarted and he can. He gets away. Oh but somebody gets a clout and there’s two cars off. That’s Megan Daly and it’s the Mondello Bar scholarship car there. Just went to avoid the other car, the backend let go.

 

Keith Burke also stalled but he will get a second bite of the cherry. We will see a red flag here. I have no doubt as they head through Campion corner for the first time. Yellow flags being waved, maybe they can move by. The barrier might be damaged slightly there as well. There you go. That’s a great shot of it. Great work [01:18:00] by see it live today. Capturing it all. There aren’t any red flags out just yet. There should be. Certainly there are now down at turn three and they’ll all acknowledge them and slow right down. Hopefully just yet. Some of them haven’t seen it. Oh, a little bit of dodgy driving there. I’m sure they’ll be spoken to afterwards. There’s some of ’em still at full racing speed. There’s contact there between two or three of them. That’s who is that into the back of somebody DMC car into the back of Joe Richardson.

 

He still having a go. He still thinks the race is on smoke pouring from the arch. It’s going to be contact again. There is, [01:18:30] and I know they’re young drivers and they’re inexperienced but there’ll certainly be a few of them called in for tea and cucumber sandwiches with the clerk of the course after that. That was Nathan Sweeny into the back of another car coming into the S and then trying again on the way up the hill. So just didn’t see the, it’s a crowded track and they mightn’t have seen that red flags. That’s what happened. Still trying to make places up but it’d be unfortunate if we lost another car while they’re under red flag conditions. So yeah, that’s a shame that car that’s gone off. Travis Ney really quick [01:19:00] driver won the Mondello Park scholarship. Not really his fault. He swerved around the stall car Richardson backend let go slightly. He was tagged by another car and just went around and into the barriers to taking a bumper off with that car. I’m sure we’ll be back out for race two POB racing looking after that car.

 

[01:19:30] There’s the car being brought back in. We should be able to look at a replay of that one actually, but oh there’s a little bit of damage in the back of that car. Okay, [01:20:00] yeah, hopefully we get it back out. The POB will be well capable of doing that but we have got footage as we said of that taken off so we will watch the start of that again and see exactly what happened. There’s that Sean from the POB team. Look how quick they’re down there. They’re not doing that for any other reason than they want to get the car fixed. Sean Perle, well known to us from Fiesta Zetec racing as well. And Rallycross here, Mondello Park, he’s one of the technicians that works with us here during the week. Let’s have a look at this replay and see what happens.

 

[01:20:30] Just we’re just getting that replay ready and we’ll have a quick look. Okay, there we go. So it’s actually beyond the car. Yeah, it’s Watkins. I think that went to the right in avoidance and that made Travis swerve. Yeah, watch the orange car at the back of the grid here. Nobody’s fault this now let’s be quite sure about [01:21:00] that. Yeah, he just moved to the right in avoidance, just clipped mo Winnie’s car upset it slightly. He gets hit again by Megan Daly. Nowhere Megan could go. Yeah, that’s nobody’s fault. None of those three drivers, none of them were at fault. Certainly there I wouldn’t be pointing at anyone. In fact they all did well to get by that stalled car of Richardson. Very unusual for Richardson to stall the car. He will get a second bite at the cherry but I’m not sure how they’ll re with them. We’ll wait and see what the officials have to say about it.

 

[01:21:30] Okay guys, we need to move a couple of cars beside the Grand Slam Thelan, the black man of the red strip there and the Jeep that are parked in the yellow box. That’s where the Nordic third vehicle guard can move those vehicles away. Leave from the Grand Slam. [01:22:00] In fact, the black man is blocking an exit. Am you please move those two vehicles Super and a black man with a,

 

Okay so re griding them now let’s just see what happens. It’s certainly it’s Irvine’s car back on pole position. I suspect Leo Richardson will get back. [01:22:30] Yeah, Fergus Brandon waving on ’em to get around. There’s not much space there. He needs to go right around the outside of everybody. That’s what he’s doing. So Leo Richardson gets another bite of the cherry back to the front. He still might have a chance of hanging on to his unbeaten record, but not if the s and j Irvine Car of Kyle Irvine has anything to do with it. Logan Hoey bringing the FPS car to the grid.

 

[01:23:00] So Paul O’Brien making sure all his cars are right up on the marks in the front row there. Leo Richardson a little bit back so I’m sure Paul will be pushing them forward just a little bit. It’s a very important thing to do. It can cost you so much and you fight [01:23:30] for traction just a little bit off the line but they all need to be right up on their marks so they’re just getting gridded up. We’re still settling a few of them down the back but it looks like we’re going with the original grid. So Irvine going to start from pole position. Richardson right alongside him. Good Marshall, just making sure everyone is where they need to be.

 

Great [01:24:00] shot at the cars from the rear there. I think we’re missing two cars. Megan Daly’s car unfortunately I think we’re missing three cars. Yeah, yeah, Megan Daly, she was involved in that initial contact. Her car’s in the pit lane, they may get that going. You got a front bumper of it. Let’s hope there’s nothing structural and they can get that one going again. The other car we’re missing is Nathan Sweeny the car that was involved in the contact after the red flag and I think I saw that car coming in the pit lane so I’m not sure where it is or whether they’re still working on it but [01:24:30] I don’t see it in the pit lane and I don’t see it at the end of the pit lane looking for a restart. So that’s what we’re missing. Certainly three cars from that contact early on in this one, but we should be almost ready to go racing. We’re just going to fix the barrier. The barrier is fixed and we should be good to go. [01:25:00] Okay, so we’ve got a grid. Don’t have anything coming up on the timing screen just yet. Usually we get the information from there so I’m sure there’ll be a warmup lap and another run still shows 15 minutes on the clock. We might get a full race. This is just their first race, remember

 

[01:26:00] There we go. Green flag. It’s warm up lap time and we have almost all the minis still going which is fantastic. Great shot there at Irvine. Firing the car around. Likewise we spoke about the sets. They want to get heated to the rear tyres of these cars but they really need to get heat in the back tyre so they can fire the cars around without the danger, the back letting go too much. They go round on you. These cars 1600 cc [01:26:30] normally aspirated. You can buy a base car to build one of these for somewhere around a thousand euro and it’ll cost you a lot more to get it up and running but you’ve got to run a couple of things. Usual safety gear that you put into any car. So your seat, your belts, your extinguisher, they run a specific wheel, they run a nice body kit to make the cars look uniform, look attractive to young drivers and look like proper race cars and they do do that and the drivers and the teams and the parents have done a great job preparing them.

 

Almost all the cars wrapped them but they just look absolutely fantastic as they come back down towards a little tail spoiler around them and side [01:27:00] skirts and a front splitter and they have about 120 by course they run a pro tune ECU and the scrutinous of the machine that allows them to read that ECU anytime they want after qualifying after a race and they can just plug it in and read it. And the map I think is 250 euro from Mickey O’Brien O Pro tune and he installed it in all the cars for that and then he gives the scrutinies the machinery that they need to read them. So a load of other stuff. Suspension is checked quite a lot. Suspension angles, wishbone, all that sort of stuff there is really, really strong eligibility enforcement at [01:27:30] Modelo Park lately. Wasn’t always the case. It’s great to see and it’s especially great to see for these one make classes.

 

You can go out in these classes, build yourself a car and you have a chance of getting up there. There are not too many secrets out there, A lot in tyre pressures and tracking and tow angles and stuff like that. But beyond that and not a whole lot you can do so great to see if they don’t have platform adjustable shocks or anything like that. They don’t even have adjustable shocks. So you can do tyre pressure as we said and a little bit of tracking and that is pretty much about it. So here they come back [01:28:00] down to us, now it’s Kyle Irvine. I’m going to start on pole position when they get back to us. Leo Richardson, Logan Hoey, Jayden Mc Brearty, TJ taf, Jack Fildes, Martin Finnegan, Harry Phayres, Joe Richardson. I think we still have, we do Nathan Sweeny. We don’t have Travis Mo Winney, we don’t have Daniel Heapes, Harry Dowling, Liam McManus, Alex Watkins, Gavin Brown, Keith Burke.

 

We’re missing Megan Daly. Unfortunately the car’s still in the pit lane. The front bumper’s off it. I thought they might get it going but no sign of that. Certainly good team [01:28:30] behind her so if that car was fixable it would be back out then. Ryan Donnelly, whichever Keith Burke Keith didn’t qualify. Well he’s down near the back but he’s a top carer, very well known getting used to the cars. He’s back in and out of carts and it’s a big, big difference. The car moving around under you, it takes a lot of getting used to if you’re used to being able to flick a cart around, you can’t do that with most racing cars so they’re a little bit different. So he just needs a little bit of experience but there’s no shortage of talent in that car And Paul O’Brien running him says he’s confident that the keys will move forward as he gets more seat time.

 

So we’re getting [01:29:00] ready to go. You can be, be sure Leo Richardson won’t stall at this time. He might give it too many revs. There’s Alex standing on the outside of the circuit there. He’s doing a lot of driver coaching with his Malik Academy himself and Max Hart so you can be sure he’s out there checking something for one of his drivers. Probably grid positioning he says as he heads back towards the grandstand, we’re getting ready to go and away we go and Richardson gets the nose ahead. No mistakes. Irvine pulls back alongside him though and Irvine’s car perhaps a little bit quicker as they head down under the bridge. Certainly they were even in first gear [01:29:30] but Irvine just pulling slightly ahead but oh Richardson’s so late on the brakes and he sits around the outside of Castro corner. It looks like he’s got the lead for Campion, he has got the lead for Campion.

 

Leo Richardson on a flyer and what about Logan Hoey in third place having a look as well as they come out of Campion. Head down towards turn three. This is great stuff then it’s br, but Taf having a look down the inside of McBrian and he gets it done. Up to fourth place of the brakes. Next up is files then Finnegan. This is really good stuff from the patch Tyre equipment Junior mini [01:30:00] class down towards Bridgestone corner. Now a little bit wide that time for Richardson that allows Irvine back up to him. Irvine pulls out now and gets alongside on the run up the hill. Nothing in it though on the way up the hill. Hoey under a bit of pressure here for fourth place. Third place, I should say. Irvine having a real go for the lead here. Look at this right in the wheel tracks.

 

It’s a massive battle for third place. That’s [01:30:30] Hoey, it’s Brti, it’s taf and it’s files in that one it. So Jack files right in the middle. Two Finnegan next up as they head down towards seven A and B. We’re looking for a lunge here from somebody in Mount Ti. He’s the man that does it down the inside of Logan High in the FPS car high a little bit wide. Tries to sit round the outside, does sit round the outside, but the next one’s a righthander again, that’s good stuff from Logan Hoey to sit round there. Normally he’d see that place. If somebody had you on the brakes in the seven a, no way was he letting it go. If he can sit around the outside here again, he’ll have a back on the Lefthander. I gets the car a little [01:31:00] bit out of shape. Oh well that’s just scrubbed off a small bit of speed and probably has cost into place but he can hold off TJ TAF and stay in fourth place now.

 

First two definitely getting away. Leo Richardson under big pressure here from Irvine as they come towards Nordic Spirit corner up over the inside curb for the first time and right out to the edge. How hard are these kids pushing? Look at them in the background. They’re using the tarmac as a rough guide onto the grass, onto the dust. TJs half down the inside with a big Juan Goli there and gets down the inside of Logan High and takes that forth place away. [01:31:30] So Jack Phis getting a great view of this one first two glued together as they go by that battle for Fort Place. Getting a little bit hectic. It’s Richardson ine Mc Brearty Hoey TAF files, fares heaps, finning and Richardson, McManus, Dowling, Watkins Burke Donnelley and Gavin Brown as they go through at the end of Lap one File’s. Having a look now at Logan Hoey.

 

So Logan back a couple of places but he’d be well capable of resetting and getting going again. He left plenty of pace and we know he’s [01:32:00] got loads of racecraft so watch out for him. Quick drivers right with them files has got hardy fares right with him going beautifully. Files gets down the inside of Hoey, the oyster around the outside again takes off the lock and just manages to out drag him on the way back up the hills and nothing in as they come back down into Bridgestone again and in fact says they’re going to be a move for the lead. It’s very, very close up there. Richardson leading now. But look at this Irvine all over ’em. Almost touching ’em at the apex of Bridgestone there as they head up the hill. Great battles all the way down the field and this one it’s opened up just a little bit [01:32:30] file still having to go at high there for that fifth place.

 

Leo Richardson now using every inch of track inch perfect there on the way out onto the international track and he’s beginning to just get away a little bit from Irvine but ti going well there in third place. He’s got away from everybody else. TAF now is up to fourth place high right with him then files, then it got back to another battle. That’s Finnegan. We’ll see who they’re, we’ll identify them. We’ve got a closer [01:33:00] shot but that third group, here we go now Richardson and Irvine together. Brt, if anything is closing them in the stables car then it’s Taf Hoeyfiles Finnegan Daniel heaps. Is that possibly somebody a little bit wide there that could have bit of sideways stuff? It looked like we might’ve been heading for crash landing with the drone. Let’s hope not suddenly took a sudden swoop there. But we’re going back to normal cameras [01:33:30] now up over the inside curb out onto the main strait. I think this is going to be fastest lap, you know for Mc Brearty. No, the drone is still flying so no problems there. Let’s watch the lap times. Yep. Fastest lap. Jayden McVety two 7.4 5 8 2 0 7 0.458. That’s a lot quicker. It’s half a second quicker than the race leader so let’s keep an eye on him. That’s only three tenths off the lap. Record that lap. Just three tenths [01:34:00] off the lap record. So it’s Richardson, Irvine, MC Britty, TJ Taf, Logan Hoey, Jack Fildes, Daniel Heapes, Harry Phayres, Martin Finnegan, Joe Richardson, Liam McManus, Harry Dowling, Alex Watkins, Keith Burke, Gavin Brown and Ryan Donnelly.

 

[01:34:30] Great battles all the way down the grid as we can see there. First two still together but certainly the man on the charge here is Jayden McLarty hit fastest lap last time around, not closing in on them as much as he was. Certainly he took a big chunk out of him when he did that 2 0 7 lap. Nobody else in the two oh sevens, [01:35:00] most of the top group in the two oh eights actually right out to two fourteens from some of the newcomers that was just the first flying lap. Of course, nine minutes still to run on this one. So plenty of racing to go. Richardson looking to win his fifth race in a row. He is unbeaten this year in the Mount Marion cars machine. Irvine looking to take that away from him having taken pole position this morning right up to the back bumper of that car.

 

They’re really well matched but Brti just static there really. He was 0.9 back as they [01:35:30] went across the line. He’s a similar amount back now, so not showing the pace. He showed a lgo then it’s TAF and high and files and it got back to Finnegan I think really close to the lead out onto the main strait. Now there’s that drone shot as they go by the tower under the alpha Railo bridge down into Castro, turning in just a touch early. Leo Richardson there to try and hang on, [01:36:00] it’s back up the hill. 1, 2, 3 together. Now I do think this is going to kick off. It’s all line of stern so far, but eight minutes to go. Richardson just a little touch to the inside between the two apexes. There’re not going to leave any gap to get dive bombed down the inside in case Irvine has any ideas. But Irvine now will have to have one eye in the mirror because Mc Brady’s still coming and he did another 2 0 7 last time, round [01:36:30] four tenths lower but way quicker than anybody else. So that’s the man with the pace in third place. Not sure where he is gaining. Let’s keep an eye as they go through but certainly there must be a certain part of the circuit where he is. Very quick. Richardson still leading this one. Great run round the outside, the first corner, take the lead away.

 

[01:37:00] But Brady thinking about a lunch down the inside, he had a big go there and in fact Irvine’s gone wide and he will get the place away. Irvine just looking into the mirror went in a bit late, the brakes missed the first Apex himself went a bit wide and that was all Brti needed. Leo Richardson will be absolutely loving this, looking in this mirror now watch Richardson. He’s a clever kid. He’s put the hammer down now. No more defending, no more central road looking him in over that inside curbs. This is his chance now to get away and he knows that. But Mc birdie’s the one with the pace. So Leo Richardson really needs [01:37:30] to get the head down here and Irvine no doubt will want that second place back as well. The next group, good battles there as well. It’s half under big pressure from Hoey and right with them as files.

 

That’s Leah McManus, local lady 2 9 9. Also does junior rally cross here at Mondello Park. There’s Taho and files. Richardson goes through, let’s see his lap time straight into the two oh sevens [01:38:00] 2 0 7 6 but Mc Mc Brearty 2 0 7 0 8 1 8 1 that time round but that includes the move for the lead. So it’s not representative but certainly Richardson did his fastest lap at 2 0 7 0.6, half a second off the record and just two tenths off the fastest lap of the race, which is Rey. Somebody else, Daniel Heapes going really nicely. They’re up to seventh place as well. He is a bit back from that group but he is fought his way to the front ahead of Harry Phayres. Martin Finnegan, Joe Richardson and then Harry Dowling just got past Leah McManus to take that 11th place away then it’s Alex Watkins, [01:38:30] Keith Burke, Gavin Brown and Ryan Donnelly. First time racing for Ryan out there, so great to see him.

 

Great addition to the grid 21 cars were entered. I think we’ve lost one or two won in the run up to the race and certainly one or two in that first lap incident. But there are now 21 race ready. Junior cars can only be good for Irish motorsport as these drivers mature and turn 17 and head off into other race classes. It’s a great training ground. The racing is really, really good and the one thing we all love about it, certainly I do from a commentary point of view, is they give each other a racing room and that’s not something that always happens at Luc car racing, [01:39:00] but certainly the junior Minis, they’re hard racers, they’re incredibly talented but there hasn’t really been any gouging. I hope I’m not speaking too soon, but they generally give each other good racing room. That was files we were looking at who was trying to get up the inside of Logan High and he trying again down the inside there in that drone shot but high good and lightened the brakes and it doesn’t happen.

 

This will be a telling lap time. I think that these two are probably quite equally matched in front. Richardson and Mc Brearty. Leo Richardson, as soon as he didn’t have to defend the very moment he saw what happened behind him, you could see the body language change [01:39:30] in the car. He begins to put the head down and begins to press on. Paul O’Brien very impressed with this young man, said he’s very confident and he’s hard to beat at the moment. He’s on, he’s driving well he is given great feedback. He uses his head when he’s driving and that’s probably why he’s unbeaten so far in 2025 in the junior mini challenge and he goes right out over the curves. They’re all going right out over. That’s how hard these young men and ladies are pushing hard and laid on the brakes. Now up into south side motor factors corner to tough, having to defend from Hoey who has a run down the outside [01:40:00] trying to get a better exit exit and get up alongside him again as they come out onto the main straight great battles all the way down. This one is a battle coming down towards us now and that’s heaps and fares absolutely together in the background here. Let’s look at the lap times. Richardson does the fastest lap of the race. 2 0 7 0.4 0 8 2 0 7 0.4 0 8 2 0 7 0.150 is the lap record and that is for Joshua Henry, the champion from last year. He’s racing genetic juniors in the UK this year. Joshua Henry [01:40:30] Heaps and Faires having a real go. That’s them side by side I think, isn’t it? It is on the way down to turn three.

 

Daniel Heapes of Harry fairs. Harry fairs having to go down the outside heaps holds ’em off but only just Farris tries to get back up the inside. Good racecraft from this young man down the outside of the way and up the inside and the way out. He’d be on the wrong side here though, but he gets the nose ahead down into the S’s, thinking about a look around the inside, but heaps locks the inside [01:41:00] break there and says no way down the inside, but he’s going to have a go again with a better exit here, look at this. There’s a young man really using his head. Great battle between these two. The head up the hill wipers on. There’s still a little bit of rain I’m not seeing on the Cory box. There must be a little bit of rain out there. It’s the Lola corner and once again he goes high and wide.

 

What he’s trying to do is get a better exit there and he gets a slightly better one when you get closer on the run down the hill. These two cars look fantastic, beautifully wrapped, side by side again and heaps doing really well to hold them back. But fares gets the nose ahead, he gets fully ahead. Can he get the job [01:41:30] done on the brakes he can’t heap locks it up again and fires it back down the inside. Great battle between these two and round to where that we started watching the battle last and once again he gets a better runoff seven B, he gets up the inside, he’s got the nose up, he’s got alongside. It should be his corner here and indeed it is, but Heap sits around the outside. Little bit of rowing, but that’s okay. No gouging. They’re giving each other room again.

 

They come apart from each other. Well what about these two young men? 51 and zero nine together and again heaps locks it up and just about hangs [01:42:00] on racing room being given again. Look at that on the exit of the corner and Finnegan closing the boat down. They’ve done nearly a full lap side by side. These two young guys. This is just what we want to see in Irish Motorsport. It’s specifically in junior racing. They’re still having a go and Finnegan catches them and launch it down the inside. Martin Finnegan opportunistic move there, gets the job done. So that’s Faires in front of this one and heaps up back. Another place with Finnegan now I think indeed that is as they go by us. And that’s Joe Richardson, [01:42:30] brother of the leader. He went right with them too. So Joe Richardson’s intent place Harry Dowling. Next up in the multicoloured car, then it’s Liam McManus, Alex Watkins and Keith Burke next to across the line.

 

Any fastest laps That’s arm now? No, all in the two oh eights up front. In fact, Hoey and files matching the as the leaders now they’re side by side. It looks like files has got by Logan Hoey at the back. They can back out towards us. Hoey doesn’t like it. He’s fighting back. [01:43:00] He’s looking to have a run round the outside there doesn’t get it done, but later or Apex might get him a better run up the hill. Here they come now. Second gear, third gear up the hill, but files, he’s got the job done. He’s got a length or two in hand. So it’s Richardson, Mc Brearty, Irvine, TAF files and Hoeynow is your top six.

 

Just 59 seconds to go with this one. So if you could be on the last lap, we’ll see how it looks when they come back down towards us. I think it will be actually. [01:43:30] So that’s TAF files and they’ve been battling all the way through this. Oh Hoey so late in the brakes and right out over the exit curb really wants to have a go back at files. Here he comes back up the hill. Leo Richardson leading look at Hoey there in the FBS car, kicking up the dust again on the outside, having a go at [01:44:00] files. She files turning that card out beautifully for his sun. And Richardson’s still trying hard look at the little jerk as the car came off the curb there, right out to the outside, laid on the brakes and a late turn in. Now for South Side Motor Factors corner, there are six, five seconds to go.

 

It’s going to be chequered flag I think below me. Fergus Brennan thinks the same. He holds it in the air and it’s chequered Flag five time winner for POB racing in the Mount Marion Motors company and still Oregon Motor Company. It is Leo Richardson. Absolutely stunning drive from him around the outside [01:44:30] for the lead on the first lap and managed the gap. Jayden Mc Brearty, a charging drive, very much won to watch to second place. Really had to go there and had fastest lap for a while. In fact, he’s within a 10th of the fastest lap of Richardson, Kyle Irvine. Great runs to third place. TJ F had to fight. Hard to get up to fourth. Then a great battle between Jack Phi and Logan Hoey. Then Harry Phayres and Daniel Heapes. What about their battle fares? Just about gets it from Daniel Heapes. Joe Richardson. Martin fitting, dropping back slightly on the final lap. Then Harry Dowling, [01:45:00] then it’s Liam McManus and Alex Watkins just coming across the line there now. And Keith Burke is right with them.

 

There’s the Mount Maryanne machine, there’s his dad. Delighted getting used to this quick high five over the barrier. Great stuff that young man br as well on Irvine. Great job from the top three there. Well, that could have gone very wrong from, but it didn’t. He’s won again and he’s absolutely delighted. Leo Richardson taking the win there he is. Big hope for the dad. High five to the team. [01:45:30] That’s the POB team runs on there. Yeah, he’s really happy with that. You’ll notice that’s an Alex Dunn race suit. He’s wearing his dad’s company sponsor Alex Dunn as well. And they’ve given him a suit, so he wears that and supporting Alex Dunn, who’s racing at Silverstone in F two today. I’ve been asked by two people not to give anything away. They don’t want all of you guys out there to know how Alex Dunn has done because they want to go home and watch it on telly tonight. I told ’em it’s not the 1990s and everybody knows, but I won’t ruin the surprise. But great stuff from Junior Minis. Great guys and ladies on the grid and some [01:46:00] really good driving and they all did really well to avoid that stalled car in the front row. First time out, well almost in one car, but it wasn’t really his fault. They’re back out later on the Patch Tyre Equipment, junior Minis, and we look forward to seeing them.

 

You can hear from the noise in the background that the single seaters are being released. It is. I don’t have a grid. Maybe it’s just a single car getting a run. Safety [01:46:30] car’s out there. Yeah. Yeah, I think we’re done. I think that’s just one of the cars getting a run behind the safety car. So we’re finishing now for lunch and we’ll be back shortly with some more racing. Live from Mondello Park with the Beacon Hospital and see it live. We’ll be back soon. Thank you very much.